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3 locals among 301 new COVID-19 cases in Singapore; total at 54,555

People dine at a hawker center in Singapore as the city state reopens the economy amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, June 19, 2020.  REUTERS/Edgar Su
People dine at a hawker centre in Singapore on 19 June, 2020. (PHOTO: Reuters)

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) has confirmed 301 new COVID-19 cases as of Thursday (6 August), bringing Singapore’s total to 54,555.

Of them, four – including two Singaporeans – are cases in the community, four are imported, including one Singaporean. The remaining 293 are foreign workers residing in dormitories, including 144 linked to the cluster at Acacia Lodge at 530-540 Bukit Batok Street 23, which has a total of 1,730 confirmed cases.

Overall, two per cent of the new cases have no established links.

Two community cases are asymptomatic and were detected through proactive testing, said the MOH.

One of them – no. 54627 – is linked to a previous case and was detected from the proactive screening of workers in essential services who are living outside the dorms. He tested positive for a serological test, which indicates his case is likely a past infection, said the MOH.

The remaining three unlinked community cases include case 54459, who was swabbed as part of active case finding efforts, the ministry added. His serological test has come back positive, indicating a likely past infection.

The remaining two cases include no. 54581 who was detected under the enhanced community testing to test all individuals aged 13 and above who are diagnosed with acute respiratory infection (ARI) at first presentation to a doctor, and no. 54580 who was tested after he sought medical treatment for prolonged ARI symptoms.

“Epidemiological investigations of the unlinked cases are in progress. In the meantime, all the identified close contacts have been isolated and placed on quarantine, and will be tested at the start and end of their quarantine period so that we can detect asymptomatic cases,” said the MOH.

Amongst the four imported cases, case 54617 is a Singaporean who returned to Singapore from Kazakhstan on 25 July.

Another two – cases 54619 and 54621 – are work pass holders who are currently employed in Singapore, and had arrived from India on 25 July. The remaining case – no. 54620 – is a dependant’s pass holder who arrived from India on 25 July.

All of them had been placed on 14-day stay-home notice upon arrival here and were tested while serving their notice at dedicated facilities, said the MOH.

The ministry noted the number of new cases in the community has decreased, from an average of three per day in the week before, to an average of two per day in the past week.

Similarly, the number of unlinked cases in the community has remained stable at an average of one case per day in the past 14 days.

The ministry also reiterated that they would continue to aggressively test the final batch of dorm residents, and remain on track to clear all the dorm by 7 August, except for a few standalone blocks in the dormitories that serve as quarantine facilities.

It also announced the closure of 14 dorm-related clusters. These places now house only recovered individuals and those who have recently tested negative for COVID-19 infection.

  • Lingjack Dormitory (1 Woodlands Terrace)

  • Beyond Tuas South Boulevard

  • 5 Kaki Bukit Industrial Terrace

  • 52 Kaki Bukit Industrial Terrace

  • 13 Kaki Bukit Road 4

  • 10 Kranji Link

  • 119 Neythal Road

  • 46 Tech Park Crescent

  • 17 Tuas View Close

  • 119 Tuas View Walk 1

  • 107 West Coast Vale

  • 5 Woodlands Industrial Park E1

  • 182 Woodlands Industrial Park E5

  • 208 Woodlands Industrial Park E5

As of 3 August, about 273,000 migrant workers, constituting about 89 per cent of those living in worker dormitories, have either recovered or have been tested to be free from COVID-19, said the Ministry of Manpower.

A total of 1,109 dorms, as well as 52 blocks for recovered workers (BRWs) in 14 purpose-built dorms (PBDs), have also been declared cleared of COVID-19.

In the past week, 127 dorms – comprising 114 factory-converted dorms and 13 construction temporary quarters – as well as 35 BRWs in 12 PBDs have been cleared.

Of Singapore’s COVID-19 tally, 51,627 – or 94.6 per cent – are foreign workers living in dorms.

West Mall and Bukit Batok ActiveSG Gym were among nine new locations added by the MOH to the list of public places visited by COVID-19 cases in the community from 23 July to 4 August.

Over 48,000 discharged; none in ICU

With 263 more patients discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities on Thursday, 48,031 cases – 88 per cent of the tally – have fully recovered from the infection.

Most of the 112 hospitalised cases are stable or improving, while none is in critical condition in the intensive care unit, down from one on Wednesday.

A total of 6,385 patients with mild symptoms or are clinically well but still test positive are isolated and cared for at community facilities.

Apart from 27 patients who have died from COVID-19 complications, 15 others who tested positive for the virus were determined to have died from unrelated causes, including three whose deaths were attributed to a heart attack and another four, whose deaths were attributed to coronary heart disease.

“Only cases where the attending doctor or pathologist attributes the primary or underlying cause of death as due to COVID-19 infection will be added to the COVID-19 death count,” said the MOH in previous press releases, adding that the method of assessment is consistent with international practices for classifying deaths.

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